Nottingham hospitals face £439m maintenance backlog as rebuild delayed until at least 2037.
Nottingham’s main hospitals are dealing with a maintenance backlog worth hundreds of millions of pounds as plans for a major redevelopment remain more than a decade away, according to documents prepared for a meeting of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Papers for the trust’s board meeting on Thursday 12 March show the hospital estate continues to face significant infrastructure challenges while long-term redevelopment plans remain on hold.
The trust’s Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital sites are part of the national New Hospital Programme, under which a major redevelopment known locally as “Tomorrow’s NUH” has been proposed.
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The scheme includes plans for a new Centre for Women, Children and Families, a new cancer building, improvements to clinical facilities across both hospital sites and new parking and infrastructure.
However, following a national review of the government’s New Hospital Programme, construction on the Nottingham redevelopment is not expected to begin until at least 2037.
In the meantime, the trust says its existing hospital estate has an estimated maintenance backlog of around £439 million.
Maintenance backlog refers to repairs and infrastructure upgrades that are needed across hospital buildings but have not yet been completed, often due to funding constraints or competing priorities.
This can include work on roofs, heating and ventilation systems, electrical infrastructure, plant equipment and other essential building components required to keep hospital services running safely.
The Queen’s Medical Centre opened in 1977 and many parts of the estate now require significant refurbishment or replacement.
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Hospital leaders have previously said the scale of the backlog highlights the importance of long-term investment in Nottingham’s hospital buildings.
The proposed redevelopment is intended to modernise clinical facilities and address ageing infrastructure across the trust’s two main hospital campuses.
Until construction begins, however, the trust must continue maintaining its existing estate while managing the growing cost of repairs and upgrades.
The issue forms part of wider discussions by the board on operational pressures, workforce challenges and service improvements across Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
